Hydrocarbon charge in the onshore Canning Basin: insights from quantitative fluorescence and fluid inclusion investigations

Abstract

The vast and mostly onshore Canning Basin—with an area of approximately 595,000 m2—is the least explored onshore sedimentary basin in Australia. As part of the petroleum system assessment carried out by WA DMP, more than 160 samples were investigated from eight wells in the onshore Canning Basin—they are: Acacia-1 Dodonea-1 Dodonea-2 Lake Hevern-1 Looma-1 White Hill-1 Wilson Cliffs-1 Yulleroo-1. Fluid inclusion and quantitative fluorescence techniques developed by CSIRO were used, including: The grains containing oil inclusions (GOITM) technique; The quantitative grain fluorescence (QGF) technique; QGF on extracts (QGF-E); and, the total scanning fluorescence (TSF) technique. The results reveal a widespread occurrence of hydrocarbon shows in the reservoir intervals investigated—7–8 wells showed evidence of oil migration and/or accumulations often occurring at multiple depth intervals. In White Hill-1, elevated QGF and QGF-E responses were recorded in the sandy units in a depth interval of more than 500 m in the Fairfield Group. A residual or palaeo oil column of >20 m gross height at 1,655 m was apparent from the QGF and QGF-E depth profiles—and GOI and TSF data. Oil inclusions from the Fairfield Group in White Hill-1 show spectral signature typical of thermally mature and light-medium API gravity. The TSF results also indicate the presence of some condensate species, as well as relatively heavy and possibly bio-degraded oils. The new fluid inclusion and fluorescence data provide direct evidence of an active petroleum system in the Canning Basin at multiple reservoir intervals, which may be of local significant quantity.